


100 Word Fics

by atearsarahjane



Category: Call the Midwife
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-16
Updated: 2019-03-16
Packaged: 2019-11-19 12:47:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 63
Words: 6,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18135947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atearsarahjane/pseuds/atearsarahjane
Summary: Originally posted on ff.net between 30/9/15 and 24/9/15





	1. Child

'She's perfect!' Shelagh smiled down at their new daughter. It had not been an easy road to their current happiness but looking at Angela they both knew the pain had been worth it. This was their daughter regardless of blood.

'Yes My Darling. Just like her mother.' Patrick leant in and his kissed beloved wife.

'Urgh stop being so soppy.' Their son complained, rolling his eyes. 'I am trying to admire my sister not be sick on her.'

'You really know how to make a moment special Timmy.' His mother chuckled.

'Love you Angel Girl.'

'That's more like it.'


	2. Home

'Oh for goodness sake Patrick.'

'What is it love?'

'Why do I always find your socks down the back of the sofa cushions?'

'I'm quite sure I have no idea love.'

'You never even take your shoes of in the flat until we retire for the night! So where do these socks come from?' She held them up.

'I really don't know. Wait-Shelagh those aren't my socks!'

'Yes they are.'

'No they're not. Those are Tim's. I gave him some of my old ones.'

'His feet aren't that big.'

'I'm afraid they are. Our little boy is growing up darling.'


	3. Kiss

'Oh go on. It's tradition! Be sports won't you' Trixie urged.

'Now Trixie if they don't want to kiss under the mistletoe then that is perfectly fine.'

'Oh don't be such a bore Cynthia Franklin. It's just a bit of fun.'

'Maybe Shelagh doesn't feel comfortable kissing Dr Turner in front of the nuns.'

'Sorry do either of us get a say in this?' Patrick interceded.

'Of course.'

'Because I for one am all for kissing the woman I love. Shelagh?' He turned to her.

'Absolutely fine with me darling.' She grinned before he dipped her in a deep kiss.


	4. Old

40 years of marriage, three children and five grandchildren. Shelagh Turner had done well for herself especially, she considered, as she had been a nun for ten years of her early adult life. She and Patrick had had a good long life together; Patrick was still going strong at 93 against all expectations. He loved to tease her that she had been so worried his smoking would cut their life together short. She argued back that her insistence on stopping had allowed this longevity. Either way she was just thankful he was still there to hold her hand every day.


	5. Scar

She hated her scar. Every day when she dressed she would see it and be reminded that she would never be able to carry a child of her own flesh and blood inside of her. But then she would think of why she had it. The tuberculosis had been terrible but it had made her realise what and who she wanted to be. Now she had Patrick and Timothy. But the main reason she loved her scar was currently sleeping against her shoulder. Without her scar she wouldn't have had Angela. Her daughter. For that reason she loved her scar.


	6. Warmth

You're like a furnace. When I was living in my cell I was always cold. But I'm always warm when I'm with you.' Shelagh whispered to her sleeping husband. 'When you're out on a call I miss you so dreadfully, there's nothing I want more than to wrap myself around you and never let go. But you do such good work. I'm proud to be your wife. I don't know if you know that but I am. Whenever I see you at work I swell with pride. My entire self warms with pride and joy. I love you my furnace.'


	7. Cello

She was not ashamed to admit she had could not even began to imagine it until she saw the photos. Patrick would have mentioned it to her surely. They had been engaged for nearly two months now. They had told each other everything of their lives up until they had fallen in love. No. It was just too ridiculous. Not him. Not her Patrick. She just couldn't see it. Patrick's mother must be joking but no, there it was in black and white. The evidence could not be denied any longer. Patrick had been a concert cellist as a child.


	8. Daddy

He never thought about being be a father again. Marie had only ever wanted one child and Timothy was more than enough for Patrick. He was perfectly content with his family as it was. Then Marie died. And he fell in love with a nun. And for the first time in a decade he found himself contemplating having another child. The idea of having a child with Shelagh seemed miraculous but then it was taken from them. And he had nearly destroyed their second chance. But hearing Angela's first word-daddy, he knew this was the watching was meant to be.


	9. Drink

Out of all the things the nurses expected of her the belief that she was a lightweight amused her most of all. The first time she had gone out dancing with them they had promised to start her off gently, buying her babyshams and sparkling wine. Neither were near strong enough for her full blooded Scottish taste . The nurses nearly fell off their seats when the handsome man at the bar had brought over her supposed request of a double whiskey. Trixie actually did when Shelagh threw it back as if it were water with a rather satisfied smirk.


	10. Face

The moment she opened her eyes she knew this child in her arms was her daughter. Not just because of the way her heart was no longer fractured or the way her soul sang, not even because of the instant surge of protectiveness she felt. No, the main reason she knew this was her daughter was because of her face. The same face that had formed with every stitch into her nightdress, the same face that had haunted her for weeks. The face of the child she had wanted for so long. The face of the daughter she now had.


	11. Nails

Shelagh had never thought much about her fingernails. As a child she had had to keep them short so she could help out on the farm she grew up on, then as a trainee nurse she had had to keep them at a reasonable, safe length. And of course as Sister Bernadette the idea of vanity was preposterous (though that didn't stop her from brushing her hair three times a day). Now, sitting in Chummy's kitchen with her bridesmaids painting them Shelagh gazed at her nails and pondered what they represented- her fiancé and her stepson to be. She smiled.


	12. Scream

To his dying day Timothy Turner would never forget the scream. Not a scream exactly, more half scream half wail. It haunted his dreams. He had been 11 and still adjusting to life with his new, but much loved stepmother. She had only been home from the hospital 2 days when it happened. She had thought he was at Jack's house but he had come home early to find her screaming into the nightdress he had seen her sewing. He had rushed over and hugged her. He wished he could be her blood son. Then she wouldn't be so broken.


	13. Stairs

She'd always thought it was a house. He was certainly earning enough to afford one. Secretly she had thrilled at the idea of owning one. So she was very surprised the very first time she entered 24 Bermondsley Lane to discover it was a flat. It was the lack of stairs that got her. He had laughed when she asked him where they were after he had caught her snooping. By the end of that evening she'd decided that it really did not matter. So long as she had Patrick and Timothy by her side she would be live anywhere.


	14. Stars

Patrick Turner had always loved the stars. As a boy he would spend hours laying on the hill behind his house just watching them and ignoring his parents calls to come inside before he caught something. Once, for his 12th birthday his uncle had taken him to the local observatory. That day had changed his life. He had got talking to one of the volunteers working there who, it turned out, was a doctor. By the end of their three hour discussion Patrick had a new career aspiration for when he grew up. But he never stopped loving the stars.


	15. 60s

What do you think it'll bring?'  
'The 1960's? Who knows my love. Anything can happen. These past two years are proof of that. Two years ago today I was a lonely old man with a young motherless son. Now I have the most beautiful, most incredible wife in the entire world, I have a son who is turning out to be a fine young man under the guidance of his mother and a gorgeous baby daughter who favours me.'  
'No she doesn't.'  
'Yes she does. I cannot wait to experience the 60's with you. I think it will be quieter.


	16. Letters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this one is actually 128 words 🤫

She kept every single one of his letters, even the very earliest ones in which he had managed to restrain his feelings and keep a strictly friendly tone. She almost loved those ones the most because the simple act of hiding his feelings were, in and of themselves, an act of love. A hidden act like so many others that had gotten them to this day. From the outside it looked like she was carrying her bible. And she was. But only she knew that between those pages were writings of equal importance to her. Today she would marry the man she adored in the eyes of the only other man who shaped her life. And she would be carrying both of them down the aisle with her.


	17. Car

If you had told Sister Bernadette that she would ring in 1963 making out with Dr Turner in the backseat of his car she wouldn't have believed you. But it was happening. Timothy and Angela were spending the holiday with Granny Parker so the adult Turners had decided to take a weekend in the country. But the car had broken down in the middle of the road. And it was cold. What else were they to do but keep warm the best way they knew how? It would be three years before Patrick admitted the car had been perfectly fine.


	18. Darling

Darling. The very first time Patrick called her that she cried. It was so domestic. So normal. In all of the scandal and hurt feelings surrounding the beginnings of their relationship she had forgotten that love was normal. It had only been three weeks since she left the Order, two since she had gotten engaged and the reality of it all hadn't sunk in until that word so casually thrown her way. 'Can you pass the salt please darling?' With that word the future became clear, she would be his darling and he would be hers. They would be happy.


	19. Disappointment

'We'll find a way ahead.'

'I'm looking for it. I really am.' She sniffled. He leant down and placed another kiss to her cheek before leaving. She couldn't but feel slightyl disappointed. all she wanted was for him to draw her into his arms and kiss her. She was never happier or more certain of her path than when she was in his embrace. But he was a busy man, she understood that. One of the very first things she loved abuot him was his dedication to his work. But that didn't stop her from needing his love right now.


	20. Fairy Tale/Happy Ending

It was no fairytale. She wasn't whisked away by some handsome prince to live in a castle as a queen. No, her happy ending came with tears and fights and angst. She was rescued but by a GP and a midwife. No prince. She'd always known she was adopted but she had never minded. She had no beef with her biological parents but they weren't her parents. Not like Mum and Dad who had kissed her grazed limbs and let her cry into them after she had been stood up by her crush. Patrick and Shelagh were her happy ending.


	21. Glass

One piece of glass. That was the only thing separating them. One measly piece of glass. She couldn't be with him, her little boy, her son, who was terrified and alone in the hospital bed. But she wasn't his mother. So behind the glass she must be, unable to comfort him, to tell him that everything would be okay, that she loved him. She'd almost rather it a solid wood door, that way she wouldn't have to watch him in pain from afar. But at least this way he could still see her. Even if it was only through glass.


	22. Home 2

She didn't think she'd ever been so nervous. It was ridiculous. These were her friends, her family. They understood didn't they? She raised her hand to knock. But she had felt so awkward at Freddie's christening last week. Like she didn't belong. They didn't know how to react to her. It was as if she was a different person to them now. But she wasn't. She'd always been Shelagh and she would always be Sister Bernadette. But they couldn't see that. She sighed, turned around and walked to the one place she knew she was accepted. 24 Bermondsey Lane. Home.


	23. Mark

She had been asleep when he left the house so he hadn't noticed until he arrived at the clinic. He had been late and so unable to warn her. How she hadn't realised he didn't know but the nurses had evidently seen it judging by the looks he kept receiving. He prayed he could get to Shelagh before Sister Evangelina noticed. Eventually he'd managed to catch her eye and he tried to gesture at her but she didn't understand until Trixie sidled up beside her grinning. 'Your husband is attempting to inform you that you have a very visible hickey.'


	24. Mistake

He had never meant to hurt her. But she was being unreasonable. He was 15! He was nearly an adult and she wouldn't let him go out for the evening with his friends. Then came the mistake. 'You're not my real Mum!' He regretted the words as soon as he'd said them. He hadn't needed to look her in the eye and watch her heart break. But he had. And he felt terrible. He had apologised over and over again but she still looked so hurt. She WAS his real Mum. Now he just had to prove it to her.


	25. Morning

Her favourite moment of the day was early morning, waking to see her husband slumbering peacefully beside her. Her second favourite moment of the day usually came about 20 minutes later when their bedroom door would crack open and a tiny blonde head would appear beside her bed for a morning cuddle from her Mum. Shelagh was more than happy to oblige. And when Daddy woke up their blessed Angel would lie between them, safe in her parents embrace. On very special occasions Tim had been known to join them too. Shelagh really did love early mornings with her family.


	26. Mourning

He still missed her every single day. They had been married for 16 years after all and courting for five before. She had been his everything and then she had been gone forever.

* * *

She was his Mummy. No matter that she had been dead three years she would always be his Mummy. The woman who read to him and danced around the kitchen with him

* * *

Shelagh knew her boys missed Marie but she didn't mind. They'd been lucky to become Turners. She couldn't be jealous. Marie may have had years with them but Shelagh had the rest of their lives.


	27. Reading

She loved it when he read to her. It didn't matter what it was, she just loved his voice. One of their favourite activities was when he would read to her from The Lancet. Timothy found this unsettling but neither cared. They only had ears for each other. She adored the way he would get excited by new developments. He treasured the look on her face when she heard of brand new treatments that could revolutionise the NHS. Both loved postulating Sister Evangelina's reactions to each new development, often ending up in hysterics. Timothy just rolled his eyes at them.


	28. Secret

Sister Bernadette,  
I love you. I'm so so sorry but I do. And I think you love me too even though you're not allowed to. I'll never send this so I may as well go ahead and tell you. I lie awake at night aching to hold you, desperate to kiss you goodnight and see your eyes open first thing in the morning. I yearn to know what colour hair you have and to see it fanned out on the pillow beside me. I want nothing more than to be openly in love with you. I want to marry you.


	29. See

She'd had glasses her entire life. For as long as she could remember she had needed those special pieces of glass to see. She'd been bullied terribly at school-she'd stopped wearing them for three weeks after James McCrimmon had said some particularly hurtful things. She had eventually fallen into the school pond and her father and teachers had forced her to wear them. It wasn't until she was 31 that she learnt you didn't need perfect vision to see. She could close her eyes and tell you exactly where Patrick was, what he was thinking. She could see his soul.


	30. Solace

'I'm so sorry.' She broke out into sobs. 'I ruined it. I ruined our future.' 'No Shelagh. This isn't your fault.'

'It is. I had tuberculosis and now I can't give you children.' She wailed. 'I wanted to have your baby so much. I dreamt of it, even before I went to the Sanatorium. This never would have happened if I'd left the Order when you'd kissed me! I'm so sorry Patrick.'

'Shelagh listen to me. I love you. You, Tim and I are a family. We're great as we are. Our future will be perfect. Please don't blame yourself.'


	31. Year

She couldn't remember what she was doing exactly a year ago. Probably delivering a baby and trying not to think about him. That her had no idea what was to come. Chummy leaving, Jane arriving, Freddie arriving, her tuberculosis, leaving the order, turning her back on the only family she knew, Timothy's polio, reconciling with her family. All of that leading up to this day. Her wedding day. The day she walked down the aisle with her sisters in heart behind her towards Patrick. The day she stopped being Shelagh Mannion and instead became Mrs Shelagh Turner. Wife and Mother.


	32. Rain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Actually 139 words

It had rained for 5 days straight. Fitting really, Angela thought, considering today was the day her brother and her buried their parents. It would have been quick the policeman had said. The car that had hit them had killed them on impact. They had felt no pain. They were lucky. Because now she was left with a brother who lived hundreds of miles away, alternative guardians who were nuns and an aching chasm in her chest that would never be fixed.. She didn't want to leave Poplar but she didn't want to leave Tim either. She didn't want to live in a convent but that's where the rest of her her family were. She wasn't sure if it was the rain or the tears that rolled down her cheek. She didn't care. She just wanted her parents back.


	33. Boy

He would always be her little boy. She may not have married his dad yet but he was already her son in her heart. He'd asked her if he could call her Mum after the wedding. She had cried at that. She was crying now too. She felt herself being drawn in her fiances arms, unable to tell if the shaking was coming from her or him. Probably both. They would dedicate their lives to the eradication of polio she decided as the body of their 10 year old son was lowered into the ground. Never to call her Mum.


	34. Laughter

She wouldn't stop giggling and it was beginning to annoy him. He was trying to sleep yet for the past 4 hours the bed had been shaking with her laughter and she kept letting out audible titters.

'Darling I love you but would you please stop laughing.'

'I can't. It's too funny.'

'Go bother someone else with your mirth then.'

'Okay.' She slipped out of the bed and padded down the hall. 'Mum? You awake?'

'Yes. Are you alright?'

'Patrick kicked me out of bed for laughing.'

'Do you want to hear more stories of him as a child?'

'Please.'


	35. Baby

As soon as the girl was put in her arms Shelagh started crying. Beaming proudly Patrick navigated himself so she was able to wrap an arm around his wife without having to take his eyes off of the near newborn staring back up at them, wide eyed mad gurgling.  
'Oh Patrick she's perfect.'

'Completely perfect.' He grinned as the girl took his proffered finger in a grip.

'Hello Ellie. I'm your Nana Shelagh and this great lump next to me is your grandad Patrick. We love you very much. Oh we're going to have such fun together. Just you wait.'


	36. Tim

She'd known him nearly a decade before he became family. She would always remember her first day in Poplar, how she'd been shown around the clinic, had seen the way Patrick's face had lit up as his wife and baby son visited him at clinic. She was pleased to see Tim grow into a fine young man and her heart broke for him after his mother's death. But suddenly he was to be Shelaghs son, and as such her adoptive step grandson and she began to take more interest. And as she watched him play she couldn't be more proud.


	37. Essay

'Shelagh?' Timothy crept into the sitting room.

'Yes Tim?' She cast aside her sewing.

'I ...I wanted to ask you something.'

'You can always ask me anything, you know that. What is it?'

'We have to write an essay ...about our mothers. And I'm going to write about Mummy obviously but...could I write about you too? I know you and Dad haven't been married long and I call you Shelagh not Mum but...'

'I would be honoured.'

'Really'

'Of course.'

'Shelagh?' He turned back to her. 

'Yes.'

'Can I call you Mum?'

'Oh my darling nothing would make me prouder.'


	38. Eavesdropping

Cynthia felt terrible. She hadn't known nor had the other nurses. The Sisters had claimed forgetfulness but she didn't entirely believe that. She wouldn't even have even found out if she hadn't have been eavesdropping.

'Scrub up well don't ya Doc!'

'It's my fiancee's birthday. I'm taking her up West for a show.'

'That Scottish nun? Sister B?'

'She goes by Shelagh now.'

'Didn't mean no offense Doc. She's a lovely gal. You tell her happy birthday from me.'

'Thank you. She'll be glad. It's her first birthday as Shelagh and none of her friends seem to know or remember.'


	39. Name

Shelagh Mannion was boisterous. She loved nothing more than climbing trees and running free in the fields.

Nurse Mannion was a good student, always eager to learn, always with a witty comment at hand.

Sister Bernadette was quiet. Her training had taught her to restrain herself, to be boring. But sometimes Shelagh broke through.

Shelagh Mannion was troubled. Seemingly shunned by her family and not yet Patrick's wife. But the Turner's brought her joy.

Shelagh Turner was the happiest woman in the world. She had her beloved husband, her much adored son and her perfect baby daughter. Life was perfect.


	40. Beautiful

She was beautiful. He knew she'd never accept it, her years as a nun had taught her not to. Maybe one day she would come to see what he saw but until then he would never stop telling her. Starting today.

'Shelagh...you're so beautiful. So wonderful. I can't believe I'm yours' He grinned at the ring he'd just slipped into her finger. She blushed.

'I'm-'

'Perfect. I can't get over your hair. It's like honey. And your eyes...they were all I could see for so long. Your eyes I fell in love with first.'

'Oh Patrick I love you too.'


	41. Ring

As soon as he laid eyes on it he knew he had to buy it. He knew the ring would look perfect on the hand he'd kissed so impulsively at the fete. It was delicate like her lithe fingers, quiet like her soul, it shined like her incredible eyes when she was overjoyed.  
Now all he had to do was persuade her to leave the order and wear his ring. It was time to get the twinkle back in her eyes. It was time she came home to him from the sanatorium. It was time he wrote her a letter.


	42. Wedding List

'Are you sure Shelagh?'

'Of course. I know how close you are to her. So long as she's happy to come I'm happy to invite her. You've known her since you were a boy. I'm grateful to her for all she's done for you two. I get on well enough with her.'

'But still. Inviting Granny Parker to the wedding..'

'She's part of this family. She deserves an invite. I want her to know that I respect Marie, that I'm not trying to replace her.'

'You're a wonderful woman you know that?'

'Of course. Only the best for my man.'


	43. Circle

She gawped the first time he did it. It was ridiculous. It wasn't possible but she had just witnessed it first hand. He must have cheated. 'Do it again!'

'Really?'

'Really!' He put the chalk to the blackboard and drew another circle

'How is it possible to draw such a perfect circle freehand?' She shook her head in amazement.

'I'm just naturally talented. Do I win a prize?'

'I'm sure that can be arranged?' She grinned leaning forward to take his hand and pull him into a deep kiss. 'We're in public Mrs Turner.'

'Let them watch. I don't care.'


	44. Lower

His hands were creeping lower and lower. And Shelagh was tipsy enough that she didn't care. Sister Evangelina however did. They were all ringing in 1961 together at Nonnatus, the Turners and Noakes' had come over and Jenny had visited with her fiance. The young women had all gone out to a bar for a few drinks first and now none of them were sober. It was very unsettling seeing Shelagh tipsy and coming on to her husband before their eyes. But that didn't give him the excuse to grab her like that in public. Sister grinned and stalked over.

His hands were creeping lower and lower. And Shelagh was tipsy enough that she didn't care. Sister Evangelina however did. They were all ringing in 1961 together at Nonnatus, the Turners and Noakes' had come over and Jenny had visited with her fiance. The young women had all gone out to a bar for a few drinks first and now none of them were sober. It was very unsettling seeing Shelagh tipsy and coming on to her husband before their eyes. But that didn't give him the excuse to grab her like that in public. Sister grinned and stalked over.


	45. Embrace

'Let that be the thing that matters.'

'Oh Patrick. My love-' Her eyes filled with tears. He opened his arms to her and settled back into his seat. Smiling softly she took his hand and settled in his lap, wrapping her arms around his torso and resting her cheek against his shoulder.

'Oh good. You've stopped fighting.' Timothy grinned walking in.

'You're meant to be in bed young man' Shelagh smiled but held out her own hand and drew her son to sit on her knees facing her.

'I love you both. So much.' It didn't matter who had spoken.


	46. Tight

Her skirt was tight. Strange. She hadn't eaten more than normal recently. She'd been known to have toast during 2am feedings but other than that she didn't know why she would have put on weight. Had it not been for the diagnosis 8 months ago she'd have suspected she was pregnant. Bit that was impossible. Wasn't it? No...Not impossible. Just beyond the realms of likelihood. 1 in 10000 Dr Horringer had said. Could a miracle have occurred? Dare she hope? Dare she approach Patrick? Dare she get his hopes up? Yes, she decided with a nervous grin, she _would_ dare.


	47. Lullaby

None of them had heard words like them before. They'd all been raised with English lullabies so the entire room were enraptured as Shelagh began singing a Gaelic one to the girl in her arms. Everyone had been delighted when Shelagh had arrived earlier and introduced her 10 day old daughter to them. Angela was a darling and had barely peeped as she was passed from auntie to auntie to sister but she had tired quickly and began to fuss. Shelagh had sprung to action and began singing to the babe almost instantly. Everyone agreed she was an excellent mother.


	48. Found

He had found her! Ridiculous as it seemed he had found her. She had walked down a country lane, in fog, off of the main road, in the middle of nowhere yet he had still managed to find her. And now she stood wrapped up in his coat finally able to tell him everything she wanted yet unable to find the words. He appeared to struggling with a similar problem.

'Oh Patrick I...You...We...I ...' She broke off.

'Yes. I know. Me too. Shelagh...' He lifted hand to cup her face, brushing a thumb lightly over her cheekbone. 'I'm happy too.'


	49. So so sorry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise for this. WARNING-infant death

Cot death. He'd diagnosed it more times than he'd ever wanted. Seen it more times than any one person should have to. But never had he imagined it would happen to him, that it should happen to his baby girl. They'd waited so long for a child, had jumped over so many hurdles to get to her. And now God had taken her from them his wife claimed. Any burgeoning belief in God was gone for him however. He could not, would not, believe that this was some part of a greater plan. Angela was dead. His daughter was dead.


	50. 50 Days

50 days

It had been 50 days since she had become a wife to the man she adored

50 days since she became a mother to Timothy.

50 days since he had called her Mum

50 days since she had learnt the joy of the joining of her soul and future with her husband, the act that could lead to the creation of a child of their own joint efforts.

50 days since her life had begun again.

And now, 50 days later she stood before her beloved husband preparing to tell him that they were to become parents again.


	51. Cuddle

He would never admit it out loud, not to anyone but her and his Dad, but nothing could beat it. Even if he had had a hard day at school, if Jack had made some unintentionally hurtful comment about his legs, if everyone had talked down to him as if he were broken, he would come home and all would be well as soon as he was in her arms again. He sometimes wondered if his father even knew how much time he spent on the sofa cuddling the woman he had so quickly come to see as his mother.


	52. Paper

'Shelagh what is this?' She looked up and blanched as Patrick stood before her smirking, a piece of paper, crumpled from multiple handlings, dangling from his fingers.

'Give me that!' She attempted to snatch it from him.

'Oh no you don't. I want to know why there's a sheet of paper covered in the words Mrs Turner and Shelagh Turner in amongst the letters I wrote.'

'Give!'

'I will when you tell me.'

'You know perfectly well what's going on there.'

'You were daydreaming about being my wife weren't you?' He chuckled before she shut him up with her lips.


	53. Works

_Sticks_ _and_ _Stones May Break My Bones But Words May Never Hurt Me_

Except they did. The whispered words that followed her day in day out scalded her skin like acid, the stares that pierced her skin digging deeper with each step until it was all she could do not to collapse into floods of tears right there in public. She didn't know where to turn...the Nonnatuns must surely hate her and she didn't want to give Patrick any reason to doubt her certainty in her choice. She just had to take a deep breath and carry on regardless.


	54. Talk

'You make sure he doesn't make you do anything you don't want to okay? It's perfectly fine to say no. If you want I'll have a word with him.' Sister Evangelina frowned pulling the newly minted Mrs Turner aside. Shelagh giggled and kissed the shocked nun on the cheek.

'I won't.' She promised.

* * *

 

Many hours later Shelagh recounted the encounter to her husband as she lay contentedly with head on his chest running her fingers through the generous smattering of hair across it.  
'Well I could hardly say how much I wanted to get you naked now could I?


	55. Disaster

He hadn't even realised until Jack pointed it out. This was a disaster. His parents were so keen to have a peek into this part of his life. He was too invested in this already to back out. Not that he wanted to. He was proud and he wanted his parents to know it. He wanted to show off to them. Show them that he could manage perfectly well without their interference. But there was no way they wouldn't notice his first ever girlfriend was much shorter than he, dark blonde, bespectacled and Scottish. Dad was going to love this.


	56. Beach

She wasn't entirely sure how Trixie had managed to talk her into wearing it, she had been vehemently arguing against it one minute and agreeing seemingly seconds later. She was a mother of two, even if she had birthed neither, and the Doctor's wife. She had to be respectable. Yet here she was stood on Brighton beach in front of the nurses and, worst of all, the nuns, in a rather revealing bikini. Sister Evangelina's jaw had dropped when she'd derobed. So had Patrick's but in a very different way. And that look alone made the embarrassment absolutely worth it.


	57. Angela Julienne

They hadn't even needed to debate it. Both agreed wholeheartedly. There was no better choice. Sister Julienne had been such a good friend to them both throughout the years and was the closest thing Shelagh had had to a mother since she was 6. There was noone they'd rather name their daughter after.

'Our Angel needs a middle name.' Patrick had grinned down at them.

'Julienne. I'd like to call her Angela Julienne.'

'Angela Julienne Turner. Welcome to the family. My darling girl you're going to make us all so happy.'

'She already has.' Shelagh kissed her daughters little hand.


	58. 1933

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set during the Christmas table scene in the 2014 Xmas special

'Doctor Turner I'd like to thank you for trying to help me back in 1933.'

'I'm just sorry my secretary never followed up on you. We could have helped you much sooner.'

'No problem. It's just a shame your good lady wife wasn't available back then

'Unfortunately I was still learning to count to 10 at the time.' Shelagh laughed.

'Don't remind me.' The rest of the table chuckled.

'What don't you like to be reminded of? That you were a qualified Doctor before I'd even made it to school?'

'God forgive me.' Patrick dropped his head into his hands.


	59. Nickname

It had started as a private joke between the two of them in the privacy of their marriage bed but slowly, unintentionally Timothy had picked up on it too. It was inevitable that the nuns themselves would find out eventually even if they hadn't let on for a while. Secretly they had thrilled at the name they had garnered in the Turner household. For so long Shelagh had seemed distant from them, even after their reconciliation so the fondness behind the nickname was a welcome development. Besides, that aside, there were far worse names to be given than Angela's Fanclub.


	60. Important Business

'Come Shelagh we have important business.'

'Trixie?' Shelagh looked at her friend confused. 'I'm helping to wash up.'

'You can do that any day. This can't wait.' Trixie grinned at her, a cheeky gleam in her eyes.

'What is it?'

'Our husbands are chopping wood in the garden in just their vests. They are sweaty and dirty. I've set up the deckchairs to watch. Bring drinks.' Trixie bounced out.

'Sorry Sister I have to go.'Shelagh grinned handing the stack of plates to a bemused Sister Evangelina and pouring two glasses of lemonade. 'I have important business to attend to.'


	61. Staring

She found herself staring at him sometimes. She couldn't help it.  
Most people would have assumed that being married for almost two years now would have diminished her need to look at him so much, the mystery having been lost. Most people would be wrong.  
Every day she awoke to see his face on the pillow next to her, his limbs akimbo and a smile on his slumbering face. Every day he changed a little more, she knew each line, each crevice, each scar on his face and delighted in watching him age so gracefully.  
That is why she stared.


	62. Hunger

He was starving. He might die if he didn't eat soon he was sure of it. They were due at the restaurant 10 minutes ago yet even Angela had been ready before his parents and she'd fidgeted tons as he dressed her.  
All Mum and Dad had to do was freshen up but they'd been in their bedroom for 20 minutes now. Enough was enough he decided as he banged on the door.  
'Mum! Dad! I'm hungry can you hurry up please?'  
'He's not the only one. Unfortunately my wife is just too tasty.' Timothy pretended he hadn't heard that.


	63. Armour

Her habit was her armour. Behind it she was a shapeless, almost faceless entity without dramas and expectations.  
Shelagh was gone along with the pain that consumed her. As Sister Bernadette no-one would know of the abuse she had suffered at her father's hand, no-one would suspect she had spent 2 years living on the streets relying on begging and charity in order to eat even a pitiful meal.  
People only saw the nun, the rather plain servant of God who went about life quietly. Or so she thought. Then she looked into his eyes and knew he saw her.


End file.
